The Glory of Islamic Art
Art historian Henri Stierlin explores a dazzling 1,000-year-old decorative tradition in Islamic Art and Architecture: From Isfahan to the Taj Mahal. The gorgeous art book opens with several two-page full-color spreads of the mosque at Isfahan, Iran, noted for its brilliant tiles and elaborate domes. Stierlin argues that "Persian style" reigned in Islamic art from the 10th century to the late 18th and that its influence spread beyond Iran as far as India and Uzbekistan. The book boasts more than 500 color illustrations of mosques, palaces, tombs and minarets, as well as close-ups of details such as decorative stucco, calligraphy, arch designs and tile mosaics. (Thames & Hudson, $50 320p ISBN 0-500-51100-4; Nov. 25)
It's fun! It's creative! It's a coloring book for grown-ups! In Islamic Mandalas, readers get to use their imaginations to color in the geometric arrangements and patterns that occur in the book's selection of 31 historic mandalas. Included are designs from a 13th-century plate, a 14th-century Qur'anic illustration and a motif from a 15th-century Turkish mosque. It would be helpful to have more information about the mandalas' original purpose in Islamic art, and an idea of the spiritual illumination readers can hope to gain by decorating them; the book doesn't offer an introduction. Still, each design is accompanied by a brief quotation from an Islamic poet (Rumi dominates here), a nice touch. Also, the pages remove easily for proud display on the refrigerator. (Sterling, $10.95 paper 64p ISBN 1-4027-0036-9; Jan.)
Christians with Cancer
Christian financial guru Larry Burkett forsakes his usual pattern of dispensing personal finance advice to offer hope to cancer patients in Nothing to Fear: The Key to Cancer Survival. In March of 1995, Burkett received a shocking diagnosis of kidney cancer, and learned that it had spread to his left shoulder blade. He faced a low expectation of survival. Here, he explains the strategies that helped him better his chances: arming himself with information, seeking several opinions, exploring alternative treatments (even going as far as Prague for immune therapy), changing his diet and allowing faith to win out over fear. The book is quite practical and reassuring, though much of the personal information has already appeared in Burkett's memoir Hope When It Hurts.(Moody, $14.99 192p ISBN 0-8024-1406-0; Jan.)
Amy Givler is a physician and professor of family medicine at Louisiana State University. She is also a cancer survivor who writes from both a personal and professional standpoint in Hope in the Face of Cancer, her first book. In it, she offers medical advice and encouraging statistics about the improving rates of cancer survival; draws upon her own story to hearten anxious readers; and guides them through the bewildering array of treatment choices. The volume closes with an appendix about cancer organizations, Web sites and relevant medical literature. This helpful book will comfort many Christians who have been diagnosed with the dreaded disease. (Harvest House, $10.99 paper 225p ISBN 0-7369-0990-7; Jan.)
Grieving the Loss of a Pet
"Rocky's loss taught me how deeply we grieve for our loved animals, the intensity of pain and the length of time it can last," writes Betty Carmack, a nurse and professional pet loss counselor. In Grieving the Death of a Pet, Carmack draws from her experience of counseling more than two thousand people who have lost a beloved pet, as well as the loss of her Rocky and other furry friends. She offers the book as a kind of pet-loss support group to counter "a world that reminds us repeatedly that grief for an animal doesn't count as much as grief for a person." It's poignant and sometimes heartrending, filled with personal stories of love and loss as well as Scripture and thoughts on faith. (Augsburg, $12.99 paper 120p ISBN 0-8066-4348-X; Jan.)
